Many large office spaces are divided into smaller offices by wall panels which are supported on and project upwardly from the floor, with such panels being spaced downwardly a substantial distance from the ceiling. Such panels hence define what is commonly referred to as an open-office system. Such system works highly satisfactorily in most environments but, in some situations, it is desirable to provide a higher degree of privacy, specifically for management-level personnel. In such situations, an additional system of panels is provided which mount on top of the wall panels and project upwardly for attachment to the ceiling. Such top panels, conventionally glass or plexiglass panels referred to as privacy panels, are generally secured by having their upper and lower edges positioned within channel-like retaining strips. These strips generally loosely confine the upper and lower edges of the privacy panels therein, and hence it has been observed that significant noise is transmitted around the edges of the panels. The desired privacy within the enclosed office space is thus not achieved. Further, it is typical to provide separate upper and lower retainers for engaging the respective upper and lower edges of the privacy panels. This is undesirable since two different retainers must be manufactured and maintained in inventory.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved retainer which is suitable for use with privacy panels when creating a vertical wall structure so as to overcome the latter mentioned disadvantages.
More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved retainer strip which is configured to permit the same retainer strip to be utilized both along the upper and lower edges of the privacy panel merely by reversing the orientation of the retainer strip. At the same time, the improved retainer strip has been designed to create points of sealing engagement on opposite sides of the privacy panel, and on opposite sides of the track which supports the retainer, so as to greatly minimize the possible transmission of noise or sound around the edges of the privacy panel.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with structures of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.